“How the World Will Know”

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Meditation on John 13:1-15; 31-35

Maundy Thursday 2013

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    Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.

         And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

          He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’

         Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’

        Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’

        Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’   

        Then Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’

        And Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’

          After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you.

          When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.”

          I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

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        What would you do if you knew you only had a little while to live?

        Yes, you would spend it with your loved ones.  You would have conversations that you may not have had before—intimate conversations. You would hug and hold hands. You would share memories that would make you smile and shed tears.  You would talk about your faith and what was ahead of you—living in heaven with God, but also separation from the ones on earth whom you love. 

         You would relay final instructions.  You would be concerned for their well-being—who will encourage them when you are no longer there to help them through life’s struggles. You would tell them not to be fearful or grieve too long, but to continue on in the way you have taught them, through your words and example.  You would tell them to walk on as God leads them to go.

      And because you love them, you would urge them to care for one another and to love one another after you are gone.

      Those last days and moments—the words, intimacy, and vulnerability of that time—would be forever inscribed on your loved ones’ hearts and minds. 

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   This is how it is with today’s gospel.  Jesus knows he only has a little while longer to live.  His “hour” has come. And he is spending his final moments in intimate conversation with his beloved disciples, the people who have followed him, loved him, and supported his ministry through good times and bad.  Jesus isn’t finished his work, yet, but he is nearing his most important task; the work of the cross lies ahead.  His disciples still have more to learn if they are going to be able to continue on with Christ’s healing, reconciling ministry when he is no longer clothed in human flesh, standing in their midst.

     Jesus chooses to wash his disciples’ feet not just to show them he loves them, though love IS what motivates him. This intimate act of humble servitude, in which he wipes away the filth of the world that clings to their bodies with every step, foreshadows when he will humbly give up his life in loving service to the Father, cleanse us of sin, and make what is unrighteous holy and acceptable to God. 

       The feet, in Jesus’ time, were the dirtiest part of the body because they were always exposed to the elements. People wore open-toed shoes and walked on unpaved streets where animals relieved themselves and household waste was poured before the invention of modern sewers and indoor plumbing. This is why Jesus says, “A person who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet.”

      To come into contact with the filth of someone else’s feet was to defile oneself. A host provided water and soap for guests to wash their own feet as they entered; if the host was wealthy and the guests important, a servant or slave might do the job.

      So at the dinner table, Peter watches his Lord prepare to do the unthinkable with increasing alarm. Jesus comes to him with his bowl and towel and Peter says, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?!”   

      Jesus answers, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

     Peter continues to protest.

    “You will NEVER wash my feet!” he says.

    And Jesus answers, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’   Meaning, you will not be able to live with me in my righteous kingdom without end. 

     It isn’t until later, as Jesus says—after Judas has betrayed him, Peter has denied him and the other disciples have fled in fear.  It isn’t until later, after the work of the cross and the day of resurrection that the disciples understand that Jesus needed to become the lamb of God for them.  That he needed to become the holy, blameless sacrifice for the salvation of the world. 

     They won’t make the connection between Jesus’ loving acts of servitude—the foot washing and the cleansing of their sin on the cross—until after the resurrection. All of his followers will understand then that Jesus WAS God in the form of frail humanity.

       God sent His Son to make things right between Him and us because we couldn’t do it ourselves. We were just TOO filthy—the stain of sin could not be scrubbed off heart, mind, body, and soul through human efforts.  Even if we repented and were sincerely sorry that we had hurt God with our sinful ways, we could never be righteous enough without Christ crucified.

     Before Jesus leaves his disciples to be with God the Father, he gives them final instructions. He urges them to continue on as he has taught them, living to serve others as he has shown them to do.   

       “I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you,” he says.

      Those last days and moments—the words, intimacy, and vulnerability of that time—would be forever inscribed on the disciples’ hearts and minds. They would be remembered and retold again and again, every year by the Church of every age. 

     Through the Word and Spirit, Christ continues to urge and empower us to honor and obey his “new commandment” and teach it to our children and children’s children.

    As I have loved you, says the Lord, love one another.

    Love one another as I have loved you.

    And this is how the world will know that YOU are mine, if you love one another. 

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for washing us clean, wiping away all of our unrighteousness through the blood of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Thank you for leading us to this moment when we would again retell His story and remember his last words to his disciples, his instructions for the Church of every age, his instructions for us today.  Lord, please help us honor and obey Christ’s “new commandment.”  Help us to love one another as you have loved us through words and acts of kindness and compassion.  Teach us to love and forgive as you love and forgive so the world will know that we are His disciples—that we belong to Him!  In Christ we pray.  Amen.